Excerpt from Selling Mars (Veetu Industries #2)

Rounding a knot of trees, Cedo pulled
them to a halt, not quite believing what was before them. Where there
had been no civilization to speak of, there was now a small, brick
building. At first glance it did not appear much, having just a
single door and no apparent windows. What made it even stranger were
the clumps of wires which sloped from the walls and into the trees.
Apprehensively, he edged them closer, ears listening and eyes
watching for anything untoward. When nothing, except for the settling
of the forest came, he dismounted, letting the reins trail on the
ground as he inched closer to the building.

When his fingers brushed against it,
the door swung easily inward. There appeared to be no lights and,
with the gloom growing, it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. The
building was a single room, as bare as the trees. At the heart of it
sat a tall, cylindrical creation,. Open to the elements, it was
filled with metal discs. A multitude of metal arms extended from the
outside of the machine, all still, all waiting. Wires spiraled from
the top of it and crawled across the ceiling before out of tiny vents
in the top of the wall. The apprehension remained, the room giving
Cedo a strange feeling of disorientation. His skin prickled as he
looked at the silent machine. He did not particularly want to stay in
the tiny building but, for the time being, it seemed to be the safest
place to be.

Leaving the building, he brushed his
fingers against Billy's limp hand. “Come on,” he said softly. “We
can stay here for the night.”

Like a rag doll, Billy slid from his
horse, Cedo catching him as he began to slump toward the ground.
Slowly, Billy dragging his feet, they made their way to the building,
Cedo lowering him to the floor as they stepped through the door. As
he moved to unburden the horses, he noticed that the hairs on Billy's
arms had prickled to attention.

CHAPTER 8

“What is this place?” It was the
first time he had heard Billy's voice since the morning.

Never looking up from the satchels and
bags, Cedo shook his head. “I do not know. All I know is that it is
a roof over our head.”

“Don't like the feel of it.”

“You are not the only one.”

Cans, rope, a small box of sulfur
sticks, clothing and soap spilled from the bags and Cedo felt himself
smile. Even if they did not like where they were, at least they would
be fed and clean. His fingers closed around a small metal and glass
object and his smile widened as a lamp came out. Striking one of the
sulfur sticks, he lit the lamp, the small flame throwing warm light
around the otherwise cool and suspicious room. Billy sat against the
far wall, clutching himself as he cowered before the machine. It
remained as silent as when they had entered as if waiting for some
command.

“Will you eat something if I cook?”
he asked.

Billy did not look up, arms still
wrapped around his knees. “If there's somethin' goin' I will.”

Cedo smiled; at least he was talking,
even if it were about the most mundane things. “I shall be outside
should you need me.”

Darkness had fallen and, bar the light
sitting beside the door, nothing could be seen. The moon threw very
little light through the thick trees, and what it did give him only
made the forest even more ominous. Scrapping around, Cedo gathered a
little firewood, shuddering as sounds floated to his ears. Animal
calls, whistles, the rustling of things in the undergrowth. As he lit
the fire he waited, with bated breath, for the bizarre, whispered
numbers to start up. Perching himself on a rock, Cedo let the fire
take hold, eyes scanning the small area of exposed sky above him.

The sky was as clear as water, a few
specks of stars shimmering down. His heart stopped and he held his
breath, terror stilling him, as it slid into view. Completely silent,
with the underside lit up, the strange cross lazily rotated as it
flew over his head. Barely above the trees, it quickly disappeared,
sending Cedo to his feet to frantically search between the branches.
It remained in sight for a brief moment, flickering through the trees
before completely disappearing from view. Heart pounding, Cedo
returned to the fire. There was no use screaming, no use making a
fuss; no one would hear and Billy would not care at the moment. He
felt a dislike for the new country rise and his stomach rolled.
Spitting out the contents of his stomach, Cedo held his head in his
hands. The air around him felt alive, like it was watching him and
was preparing to tear him limb from limb.

“CEDO!”

Heart stalling, Cedo raced towards the
voice, crashing through the door and stilling when he saw the
machine. The arms were moving, lifting up and out, righting
themselves. Tiny needles tipped the ends of each arm. The arms
stretched before inserting themselves back into the machine. The
metal discs moved up and down, shuffling. Those which were not needed
lay still while the needles found the grooves of those which were.
There were pops and crackles and then they began, breaking the
silence as each played a different tune.